Mundane Necessities

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Illustration by Vincent Dutrait

This summer we're unleashing Ultimate Equipment, a massive tome full of all sorts of equipment both magical and nonmagical. Last time, Sean asked you about what kind of items you would like to see in the book, and we got a bunch of magic item ideas. This week we're asking again, but this time we're looking for something a little more... well, mundane.

What kind of nonmagical equipment do you think should be in this book? It will feature all the nonmagical equipment found in the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook, the Advanced Player's Guide, and Ultimate Combat, as well as a bunch of nonmagical equipment that we produced for the Advanced Race Guide, including weapons and armor. But what other sort of nonmagical things should be in this book? Specifically, we're looking for those nonmagical pieces of equipment that should be in the game, but that we haven't yet published.

How about a machete, or bush knife, but with the focus being on it's use as a survival tool rather then just a melee weapon? Could allow you to ignore certain types of difficult terrain, give you a bonus on sunder attempts and for breaking objects, or just give you a bonus to your survival skill?

Portable forges for craftsmen, various colapsable tent and their sizes, mundane herbal remedies, various alcohols and their availability based on town population, various metals and their hardnesses/ properties when used for armor and weapons, alchemical arrows.

as said in the last thread, a mundane alternative to simple +X bonus on armor/weapons, (doesn't need to stack, I just don't want to be the shining beacon of detect magic).

flamethrower loaded with alchemist fire (can be used with alchemist bombs).

Bombs that explode, you know, things flying around, blast damage, perhaps some rules for that.
Similar to poisons: TNT, nitroglycerin and everything other that is fun in the hands of a goblin gunslinger.

My players still bust out Aurora's guide because of the sections for specific costs on clothing material, specific types of clothing, costs for various alcohol brands in sizes ranging from tun to bottle, utility based clothing (e.g. dwarven steel toed boots that deal 1d4 bludgeoning, orc spikers that can be attached to the back of boots for Ride bonuses or to the front for attacks, drow swimsuits for, well swimming) and items (i.e. holy water sprinkler that allows you to use a holy water flask as a mace attack).

I'd suggest item sections that are meant to flesh out your character, if not for RP reasons, but to set him apart from "another fighter with the adventurer's outfit." There is that decent wiki article on Pathfinder alcohols as well, so let's get some prices.

Edit: If you do a section on alcohol, it would be cool to have it done by the brewing company and region. Example "Two Knight Brewery Ale & Mead selection from Sandpoint: -insert brand of alcohol and prices-" as well as a section on rare brands like a bottle of Whiterose Chardonnay (from Kingmaker)

Drugs that provide effects that are tempting enough that a character might actually take them and risk the addiction effects.

Food that provides in-game benefits. These don't have to be amazing effects or even combat impacting effects, but could provide effects such as reducing sleep time, increasing resistance to fatigue, reducing spell study time, improving perception, etc.

More alchemical items. I'd love to see an alchemy handbook that provides a huge array of things alchemists can make for the party. The alchemy skill should be a powerful skill for the game, alchemy has always been considered a major part of most fantasy legends. This would include more poisons and drugs.

If the game is going to have gunslingers (which I don't like) then it should include gunpowder as it was used historically. That means you should be able to purchase and/or create rockets, bombs, fireworks, incendiary devices, torpedoes, mines....

There was a weapon type from a homebrew Darksun game I played in that the Dm called brutal. Not sure if it is elsewhere. Basically, it let you reroll low numbers from the damage die, depending on the size of the weapon. One handed/ranged were brutal 1/2, and two handed were brutal 2/3. Or something like that. So for a two handed weapon if you rolled a 2 or a 3 on any damage die you could reroll all those dice again until you got a number higher than 2/3. It was awesome because nobody like rolling 1's for damage. If I recall correctly, the weapons also had a high chance of being damage or breaking (made of obsidian or something. Anyhow, I'd love to see these in some fashion.

More weapons with trip, and make the trip ones usuable with all those trip feats that currently can only be used on whips.

Animal Skull helmets or other worn things that give you bonuses to intimidation and other social skills. (Different from masterwork tools above).

I would also REALLY like to see more Handle Animal combat animals that you can purchase like the combat riding dog, but with higher stats. Not familiars, companions, or mounts, but rather something anyone with handle animal can purchase and bring with them. Dinos and others!

On that line of thinking, more mount options for paladins, cavaliers, and anyone who rides a mount. This is a fantasy game, let's live it up!

People are mentioning kits and tools a lot, so I'm going to repost what I said in the last thread:

far_wanderer wrote:

But the thing I want to see the most is both more "kits" (climber's kit, artisan's tools, etc.) and a breakdown of what is in them. The Arms and Equipment guide for Star Wars d20 had a few sidebars to this effect, and they were my favorite part of that book. It's really nice to know things like whether or not you need a whetstone if you already have an artisan's tools (weaponsmithing). And in my experience, it makes the PCs much more likely to improvise and come up with creative solutions.

Here are two examples of the kind of thing I'm talking about:

Spoiler:

Survival Kit (Masterwork provides +2 to survival checks) A survival kit provides the necessary tools for day-to-day existence in a temperate wilderness. It typically contains some form of fire-starter, a single set of camp dishes (fork, spoon, plate, bowl), refillable containers for a day's supply of water, very basic maps showing major landmarks, and a small utility knife. Masterwork versions contain higher quality gear and often add a guide to identifying flora and fauna.

Notekeeper's Kit (Masterwork provide +2 to skill or ability checks to remember information) A notekeeper's kit contains equipment to record useful information. A typical kit contains some form of journal or scrolls with enough space to contain a month's notes, a container and paper for up to ten detailed maps, and writing implements for the same. A masterwork kit usually adds an indexing system and a small ruler for more accurate maps, and is also alchemically waterproofed.

Expanded trade goods: an alternative to treasure, maybe with a simple table that lets you adjust price up/down based on region? That could serve as a minor adventure hook (hey, we just found a bunch of iron ore in this abandoned mine, let's sell it! Hmm, the prices here are a bit low ... maybe we head over the border?).

It might also make more sense in certain "dungeons" than thousands and thousands of copper pieces in a pile (or chest or sacks or treasure vault or whatever), too.

Expanded alcohols: prices, rarity, maybe some game effects (like poisons, but slower?). Someone suggested breaking alcohols down by region, which I think is a fantastic idea. I know my fellow gamers always ask about what's on tap, so to speak, and this seems like a good place to put that information.

And as has been mentioned: more alchemical items! Because they are cool.

Mounts and Exotic Pets. For those of us who are higher Level it's a Bit embarrassing to be a level 12 warrior riding in on you magnificent 15 HP war stallion that a single arrow can kill from under you. If we could get prices for some of the more exotic mounts and pets that would be good.

Also, War paints (and other battle oriented cosmetics). Like Woad, or Pitch, or Camouflage paints. Giving small bonuses to stealth or intimidate as the paint may be.

Actually, Pitch and tar could also be nice mundane attack items as well, like alchemist's fire. Maybe causing temporary blindness or rendering covered enemies more vulnerable to fire.

Poisons, acids, cheap glue. Pretty much everything that was, could have been and should have been listed in the Complete Scoundrel. Oh and utility stuff like a rope ascender/descender, pulleys(plus rules), a heavy crossbow that can launch a bolt hard enough to lodge into a wall(like in the horrible Prince of Persia movie). OOOOOhh some steampunk stuff.

Back in the day of cool PC RPGs we had Planescape Torment. You were some kinda undead thing. And you didn't use potions to heal yourself... you used stuff like embalming tools and liquid, and bandages, and that sort of thing.

I'd say some kinda embalmer's kit that bolsters undead in some way, even if it's little. It'd be interesting.

If you need more sections of the book filled out, what about a little research on what life was like back in the day, like... I dunno. How bathrooms worked? On second thought I don't think they had bathrooms back in the middle ages but... who cares, it's Pathfinder! Just sayin'.

Maybe specialized packs/backpacks for different types, like a caster's backpack (has slots for a secure but easy to reach spellbook), a rogue's pack (has slots for easy to reach climbing gear, small lights, etc).

Prayer books for priests (gives a +1 to CL or DC vs spells of a Domain).

The latter is to reflect popular adventuring tropes and the style of clothing we see in Paizo iconic art and to assign each an appropriate cost and time bonus for retrieving equipment. I'm talking wand sheaths and masterwork potion belts which allow a character to RAW draw such conveniently stored items as part of a move action (assuming a +1 BAB) just like any other weapon. Some means to strap an unwieldy spear, shield or polearm to your back should be detailed along with masterwork version of the same with added benefits. There should be some clear advantage to walking around with stuff conveniently located on the body rather than having to dig them out of the bottom of backpacks and pouches.

Whenever I make a character, I usually buy my own version of a "be prepared" kit (backpack, flint & steel, grappling hook, rope, etc.) It would save me time if you could create a "Preparedness Pack" that already includes the most commonly used mundane items that adventurers are likely to need. Then the GM would know off-hand what's in that pack without the player having to list it all on their character sheet. This would speed-up character creation somewhat.

I know there's something like this in the form of the various kits in the Pathfinder Society Field Guide, but those are specialized for a particular environment (mountain climbing, etc.) instead of a generalized pack.

Another thing that would be useful is an aspergillum so that clerics can have a device to use holy water as a splash weapon when needed. The device could have a rotating top to it so that it doubles as a mace.

Another +1 for Aurora's as reference. I still have mine and it's a pleasure to read; especially for the opinionated author's ¢2 on every item. Love her comments on the dress, the garrotte and Daroni's various items.

Alcohol lists and prices are a great idea! I still argue that a few pieces of mundane equipment that can help with action economy. Give gear dependant, low level characters some options to use swift or immediate actions, or allow them to combine using an item with a move action if they have +1 BAB!

+1 for something similar to Aurora's Whole Realms Catalogue, including exotic items from the Far East, western lands across the ocean, southern continents, etc. Alcohol, fabrics, scribe supplies, that book had everthing (just like a 19th century mail-order catalogue).

Some sort of a Rapier that does bot P/S damage (kinda like the real world cut and thrust rapier) would be awesome for all of us fans of swashbuckley types... So I can stop just refluffing the wakisashi.

Weapon Finesse weapons, or weapon quality! I'd like to see more one-handed and two-handed weapons that work with the Weapon Finesse feat. If you've ever seen a martial artist wielding a weapon such as a spear, staff, or dao sword then you can see how it has more to do with dexterity then strength. I was rather disappointed that none of the one/two-handed Eastern Weapons from Ultimate Combat worked with Weapon Finesse.

How about something like this:

Balanced Weapons
A balanced weapon is a carefully weighted version of a normal weapon. When wielding it you can use the Weapon Finesse feat to apply your Dexterity modifier instead of your Strength modifier to attack rolls with a balanced weapon sized for you, even though it isn't a light weapon.

You can't add the balanced quality to a weapon after it is created; it must be crafted as a balanced weapon (see the Craft skill). The balanced quality adds 300 gp to the cost of a normal weapon. Adding the balanced quality to a double weapon costs twice the normal increase (+600 gp).

I'd also like to see mundane bonuses, qualities, and upgrades for weapons and armor for use in low magic settings where the usual magical and enchanted equipment wouldn't be setting appropriate.

And as said by many others consumable items like medicinal herbs, food, and drink would be welcome.

We know how much things weight, (Backpacks, belt pouches, sacks, etc), but how much can they carrier before braking. There is a big difference between a 18 STR and a 10 STR. Also chest and barrel weight and sizes would be nice.
Clothes and boots of ALL types, (shirts, pants, robes, vests, short boots, high boots, winter boots, etc),.

A fast-draw sheath that maybe reduces drawing a weapon to a swift action, or a +1 to initiative on the first round.

As mentioned a couple of times above, masterwork improvements to weapons or armor, such as the Agile or Quickdraw-type quality to armors/shields presented in the APG. (Maybe masterworking in ways to give the masterwork bonus instead to damage, or initiative.)

Like of the other posters, I was a huge fan of Aurora's, but I'm not positive that's the format you intend and one of the best things about Aurora's was the flavor. If you're going for an in-play sort of catalogue like Aurora's that would be awesome, but I have a feeling the intent is more akin to Ultimate Combat or Ultimate Magic.

I would love to see optional rules on equipment (especially things that don't require you to burn a Feat), alternate delivery mechanisms for mundane effects (like how many doses of poison are required to make poison gas clouds of various sizes, or to spray naphtha over an area), and a sidebar regarding design intent on the advantages of specific mundane items vs. magic items and how it may affect encounter CR much like you did with designing new spells.

While I'm also very interested in the costs of creating castles, etc. that would probably be beyond the scope of the Ultimate Equipment and deserves its own book.

I would personally love to see some rules that allow for a weapon to grow in power as the character gains levels. D&D 3.5e had the "Weapons of Legacy" book that covered this, but I think the rules could have been made better. I'd love to see your take on these sorts of mechanics for the Pathfinder RPG.